Brow-band for bridles



J. P. DAY. Brow Band for Bridles.

No. 228,877. Patented June 15,1880.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSIAH F. DAY, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

BROW-BAND FOR BRIDLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,877, dated June 15, 1880.

Application filed December 6, 1879. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSIAH F. DAY, of A1- legheny city, county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Brow-Bands for Bridles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which like letters indicating like parts- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved metallic front or brow band for bridles, the band being broken away in part to show the inclosed wire; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the san1e,'showing a covering arranged on such front.

My invention relates to an improvement in front or brow bands for bridles.

It is constructed as follows: A strip of zinc, tin, or similar soft metal, slightly or not at all liable to injury -by oxidation, is provided, of the required length, and of a width greater than the desired width of the finished article. The longitudinal edges of this strip are bent or folded over, as at a, so as toinclose or secure longitudinal edge wires 0, one along or within either edge of the metallic band A. The band is then given a bow form, as shown in the drawings.

I clip or shear off the edges of the metal strip at its four corners, as at a, so as to leave plain or unwired tangs b at either end, to which the usual leather loops may be attached in any convenient way.

v I prefer to make use of zinc for the band A, as it is not liable to rust and thus rot the leather with which the band is covered.

Steel or iron bands, heretofore used, are particularly open to this objection, as the leather covering is liable to retain moisture, and thus stimulate the rusting or oxidizing tendency of those metals.

I also use spring-wires c, which may be made of any suitable alloy having great resiliency, or of steel, and they are separated from contact with the covering by the loops or folds at. These spring-wires, in the manner in which they are combined with or secured in the band, serve very important purposes-as, for example, their elasticity preserves the desired form of the band unless it is given awiolent or unusual twist or bend, and even in such case the wires prevent the short or abrupt bending of the band so as to form kinks, and such bends or twists as are liable to be formed in such band in packing and shipping harness, or even by rough usage, can readily be straightened out or removed, owing to the fact that the wires are free to move, shift, or adjust themselves within the folds a. This would not be the case, at least to an equal degree, if the wires were soldered or otherwise rigidly fastened to the strip A, so as to prevent this adj ustability or movement of the wires. And, moreover, the twisting and bending to which such articles are subjected would tend to tear the soldered wires loose, and thus destroy or injure the band.

Steel or iron bands, before mentioned,

would also be open to this objection, that they cannot be restored to form, except with .great difficulty, when twisted out of shape.

I have shown in section, Fig. 2, a leather covering, (1, and an ornamental band, 0, arranged upon the band A. These may be arranged and secured in any of the well-known ways of covering and ornamenting bridle brow-bands.

I am aware that brow-band frames have been made of strips of sheet-zinc which have been stiffened by bending in various ways, also that leather loops have been attached to the ends of brow-band frames, and I make no claim herein to such features alone considered, as they do not embody my invention; neither can such frames, as heretofore made, be readily restored to form after being twisted or otherwise distorted, which advantage I secure by means of the resilient wires 0, which are free to shift or move within the edge folds, as before described.

I claim herein as my invention- The bridle brow-band frame A, composed of a softin etal 11 on-oxidizable m etallic strip fold ed set my hand.

JOSIAH F. DAY.

Witnesses R. H. WHITTLESEY, O. S. PARKER.

IOO 

